dead astronaut in space

Chapter 1

Brian held the precious newborn child in his arms, trying not to get tears on his soft, pristine skin as he sobbed his heart out. Strangely, the child hadn’t cried at all when he was born, just looked around the hospital room and took it all in calmly. Brian smiled a bit at the thought of this. The boy was tough, just like his father. His father that he would never know, his father that had no idea he even existed. The child was so beautiful and innocent, Brian observed in silent awe. He had big, sad brown eyes that made him look hurt by the world, pale, smooth skin, a crooked nose, and light brown hair.

“Please, Ricky,” he whispered in a pained voice to his newborn son, “have a better life than I’ve had. Don’t let a pretty boy with greasy hair and a black tank top ruin your life.” Brian paused and laughed at himself bitterly. Just under a year ago, he had been Marilyn Manson, strong and scary and not to be f*cked with. But Trent Reznor just had to come along and f*ck everything up; his career as a rock star, his appearance, his feelings, his schedule. And the worst part was that Brian wasn’t even mad at him. He just couldn’t bring himself to be. Because now he had Ricky, or Richard Michael Warner, to be technical. And that, he decided as the baby went to sleep in his arms, was better than fame or drugs or sex or lipstick or pissing off America.